BAY MINETTE, Alabama — Baldwin County Solid Waste Director Jim Ransom accepted a voluntary $6,000 reduction in pay last week when Commissioners discovered inmate workers had set up a smorgasbord porn entertainment center at Magnolia Landfill with about 1,000 X-rated DVDs, cold beer, rubber gloves and lubricants to while away the time before transport to housing facilities. In another matter, the Commission on Thursday may hire a battalion chief at Gulf Shores Fire Department to replace John Perrett as Baldwin County Emergency Management director. Perrett was terminated last week. Commission chairman Bob James said Friday he became “unglued” last week when he personally examined the 12- by 16-foot inmate break area. He said he saw about 1,000 DVDs, computer games, open first-aid kits, rubber gloves and open containers of lubricants and ointments. “There were lots of things going on in the break area and bathrooms,” James said. “Use your imagination.” James said he examined a few, but not all of the DVDs before ordering them destroyed. “I did not look at all of the jackets, but I did not see anything like “White Christmas,” he said. The items were apparently gleaned by inmates during garbage routes in the county. State Department of Corrections inspectors discovered the porn cache about three weeks ago, James said, but Ransom did not report the investigation to Commissions. Ransom agreed to reduce his salary to $100,000 a year, which places him at his December rate of pay before receiving a $6,000 raise. Ransom was not immediately available for comment. James said the inmate labor saves about $100,000 a year, but has limitations. “We are doing away with work release workers,” James said. “There is no way a driver in the cab can supervise what is going on in garbage collections.” He said the Solid Waste Department will soon use self loaders with one driver, which will be more efficient and eliminate the $100,000 price tag for additional workers. In a separate matter, James said he will bring a recommendation to a Thursday Commission meeting to appoint Mitchell L. Sims of Elberta as the Baldwin County Commission Emergency Management Director. The meeting will be at the Baldwin County Administration Building in Bay Minette at 8:30 a.m. Sims currently serves as a Battalion Chief for the city of Gulf Shores Fire Department, a position he has held since 1984. Sims has served in the field of fire services since 1983 and has served as an EMT Supervisor. Sims is a longtime resident of Baldwin County and graduated from Baldwin County High School in 1979. “Mr. Sims has over 30 years of experience in the field of emergency services and I believe he will bring a great deal of knowledge and leadership to this position,” James said. “He has working relationships with many of the first responders in Baldwin County and county personnel which will assist with emergency response efforts.” Commissioners Bob James, Tucker Dorsey and Frank Burt voted Feb. 28 to terminate with cause a one-year contract with John Perrett, citing “a lack of managerial and organizational skills, lack of leadership skills and complaints and concerns from first responders regarding Mr. Perrett's management of emergency management issues,” according to agenda statements. Commissioner Charles “Skip” Gruber voted against termination.